Pneumatic vibrator



Sept. 15, 1970 F. J. BEST PNEUMATIC VIBRATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 26, 1968 FIG! FIGZ

INVEIVTUR FLLLTDIV J. BEJT' Ame/my:

Sept. 15, 1970 F. J. BEST 3,523,546

PNEUMATIC VIBRATOR Filed June 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4

III/VEIVTDI? FLLLTD/V JZBEST P7TDRIVEyS United States Patent O 3,528,646 PNEUMATIC VIBRATOR Fulton J. Best, 96 Kipling Ave. N., Islington, Ontario, Canada Filed June 26, 1968, Ser. No. 740,347 Claims priority, applic9a9ti5on ganada, July 14, 1967,

Int. or. Bill: 15/00 US. Cl. 259-1 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to pneumatically-operated vibrators which are attachable to or form part of equipment to be vibrated. Such equipment may be a container whose contents it is desired to vibrate or may be a pipe or the like, the vibration of which assists the passage of solidparticulate material through the pipe.

Such vibrators may include a housing forming a cylindrical chamber and providing an air inlet and an air outlet to and from the chamber respectively and a roller located in the chamber and having a smaller diameter than the chamber. The air inlet and outlet are so located that, when air at a suitable pressure is supplied to the inlet, the roller is caused to roll around the wall of the chamber at high speed and hereby cause the housing to vibrate.

It is an object of this invention to provide a vibrator of this kind which is mechanically simple; reliable and efiicient.

According to this invention, the air outlet of a vibrator is formed by a series of apertures at each end of the chamber in the housing. The vibratorial effect achieved may be increased by providing a housing containing two such chambers with a roller in each and, by suitable positioning of the air inlets, causing the rollers to rotate in opposite directions when air at a suitable pressure is supplied to the air inlets. The vibratorial effect achieved may also be increased by constructing the or each roller from a casing of wear-resistant metal, for example a suitable steel, and filling the casing with a relatively heavy metal, for example lead.

The air outlet at each end of the or each chamber may be formed by apertures in two axially spaced plates and, to reduce noise caused by exhausting air, the space between the plates may contain a suitable sound-absorbing material through which the air passes. Alternatively, apertures may be formed only in the axially inner plate, and the space between the plates may communicate with radially extending exhaust bores in the housing.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which,

FIG. 1 is a side view of a vibrator,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vibrator at a position midway along its length.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vibrator, partly in section, the section having been taken along a horizontal plane passing through the longitudinal axis of a chamber, and

FIG. 4 is an end view of the vibrator, partly in section to show a modified air outlet arrangement.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, a vibrator includes a ice metal housing 1, for example of steel, having two parallel bores 2, 3 in the main body of the housing. The housing 1 also has two flanges 3, 4 projecting from opposite ends of the main body and forming part of a base. The flanges 3, 4 have bolt holes 5, 6 respectively to enable the vibrator to be bolted to equipment to be vibrated. The upper portion of the housing 1 has air inlet means including a connector 7 to which an air pressure supply line can be connected, a chamber 8 in communication with a central passage 9 in the connector 7, and two passages 10, 11 extending from the chamber 8 to the central portions 12 of the bores 2, 3. The passages 10, 11 communicate with adjacent walls of the bores 2, 3 in a tangential manner.

The central portion 12 of each bore 2, 3 has a smaller diameter than the end portions 13 of the bores 2, 3, and the junctions of these portions form annular shoulders 14. The central portion 12 of each bores 2, 3 contains a cylindrical roller 15 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the central portion 12 of the bore 2 or 3 and a length equal to the length of the central portion 12 of the bore 2 or 3.

Each end portion 13 of each bore 2, 3 contains an end member 15 including two axially-spaced circular plate members 17, 18 integrally connected by a neck portion 19 so as to form an annular recess 20 between the plate members 17, 18. Each end member 16 abuts the respective shoulder 14 and is retained in place by a circlip 21 located in a groove in the wall of the end portion 13 of the bore 2 or 3. The central portion 12 of each bore 2, 3 is therefore a chamber bounded by the wall of the bore and two end members 16.

Each inner plate member 17, that is to say each plate member bounding a chamber 12, has a series of apertures 22 arranged on a circle concentric with the bore 2 or 3 and extending between the chamber 12 and the annular recess 20. Each outer plate member 18 has a similar series of apertures 23 which may correspond exactly to the series of apertures 22, as shown, or which may differ from the series of apertures 22, for example in size, number or relative position.

The series of apertures 22 lies on a circle of smaller diameter than each roller 15, and the relative sizes of the chambers 12, rollers 15 and apertures 22 are seen clearly in FIG. 2. The sizes are such that, when a roller 15 is engaging the wall of the chamber 12 at a given point, at least one aperture 22 communicating with a portion of the chamber 12 opposite the given point is at least partially uncovered by the roller 15. Thus as the roller 15 rolls around the wall of the chamber 12, the apertures 22 are successively uncovered by the roller 15 and at least one aperture 22 is always at least partially uncovered. The arrangement may be such that each aperture 22 becomes just completely uncovered. The length of each roller 15 is such that it is a loose fit between opposite end plate members 17.

Each roller 15 includes a hollow steel casing 24 with a lead filling 25 retained in the casing 24 by steel end plates 26. The end plates 26 are fitted while the casing 24 is a high temperature so that the plates 26 are tightly gripped by the casing 24 when it cools to a normal temperature.

In use, the vibrator is secured to equipment to be vibrated and an air pressure supply line is connected to the connector 7. By reason of the dispositions of the air passages 10, 11 relative to the chambers 12, the air under pressure entering the chamber 12 causes the rollers 15 to roll around the walls of the chambers 12 in opposite directions, with air escaping from the chambers 12 through the apertures 22 as they are successivly uncovered by the rollers 15. The air passes through the aperture 22 into the annular recesses 20 and then through the apertures 23 to atmosphere. If desired, some absorbing materials,

for example copper or brass trimmings, may be placed in the annular recesses 20 to reduce the noise made by air escaping from the chamber 12.

The rollers 15 can be caused to roll around the walls of the chambers 12 at high speed, causing vibration of the housing 1 which is transmitted to the equipment to which the vibrator is secured. The resultant vibration is the resultant of the effect of the first roller 13, the elfect of the second roller 15, and the efi'ect of the two rollers 15 rotating in opposite directions.

Air at a pressure of 80 lbs./sq. in. was supplied to a vibrator constructed as described and illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, which show the actual size of the vibrator, and the rollers 15 rolled around the walls of the chambers 12 at speeds of the order of 17,000 rpm.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative construction of air outlet means. There are no apertures in the plate member 18, but the housing 1 has an annular recess 27 forming a radial extension of the recess 20, and a series of apertures 28 in the housing I extend radially from the recess 27 to the exterior of the housing 1 and in effect replace the apertures 23.

If desired, one or both rollers 15 may be so constructed as to be out of balance, that is to say with the centre of gravity not on the longitudinal axis of the roller.

I claim:

1. A vibrator including a housing forming a cylindrical chamber, a roller located in the chamber and having a smaller diameter than the chamber, at least one end member included at at least one end of said chamber, said end member including a pair of axially-spaced plate members connected by a neck portion to form an annular recess between the plate members, the inner plate member having air outlet means comprising a series of apertures extending between the chamber and the recess, said apertures being so spaced on said plate member as to be successively uncovered by the roller as the roller rolls around the wall of the chamber, and air inlet means to the chamber, said inlet being so disposed relative to the chamber as to cause said roller to roll around the wall of the chamber when air under pressure is supplied to the air inlet means.

2. A vibrator according to claim 1 wherein each outer plate member has a series of apertures corresponding to the series of apertures in the adjacent inner plate member and extending between the recess and the exterior of the vibrator.

3. A vibrator according to claim 1 wherein the housing has radially-extending air outlet means extending between the recess in each end member and the exterior of the vibrator.

4. A vibrator according to claim 3 wherein each radially-extending outlet means includes an annular recess in the housing forming an extension of the annular recess in the end member and a series of apertures extending between the annular recess in the housing and the exterior of the vibrator.

5. A vibrator according to claim 1, wherein soundabsorbing material is located in the recess in each end member.

6. A vibrator according to claim 1 wherein the roller includes a hollow cylindrical casing of wear-resistant metal with a filling of denser material.

7. A vibrator according to claim 6 wherein the filling is retained in the casing by an end plate on which the casing is a heat-shrink fit.

8. A vibrator according to claim 1 wherein the centre of gravity of the roller is not on the longitudinal axis Of the roller.

9. A vibrator including a housing forming first and second chambers, first and second rollers located in each chamber respectively, said rollers having smaller diameters than their respective chambers, first and second air outlet means leading from said first and second chambers respectively, said outlet means each including a series of apertures located at at least one end of each chamber, said apertures being so spaced as to be successively uncovered by said first and second rollers as each rolls around the Wall of its chamber, and air inlet means to each chamber, said inlet being so disposed relative to each chamber as to cause said rollers to roll around the walls of their respective chambers in opposite directions when air under pressure is supplied to the inlet means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,496,291 2/ 1950 High 2591 2,967,048 1/ 1961 Fontaine 259-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 653,912 3/1961 Italy.

ROBERT W. JENKINS, Primary Examiner 

